Rackham International Student Fellowships

Any Rackham program on the Ann Arbor campus may nominate up to two international graduate students who have successfully completed one year of graduate study and are in good academic standing. Nominees do not need to meet the criteria of the specific donor funds to be eligible.

Note: U.S. citizens and permanent residents are not eligible.

Nominees must be registered for at least three (3) credits if a master’s student or for six (6) credits if a doctoral student, in both the term of nomination and the following academic term.

If programs also wish to nominate students who are eligible for the Chia-Lun Lo Fellowship, Arab Alumni Fund Fellowship, Indian Alumni Fund Fellowship, or Kan-Chuang Fellowship, they may submit up to four nominations total for the combined competition. However, these four nominations are subject to specific eligibility criteria. Please refer to the detailed email you received (“Rackham International Student Fellowships – Expanded Nomination Opportunities for 2025-2026”) for important nomination rules and qualification requirements for each fellowship.

New: All international students who meet the general criteria above can be nominated, regardless of their country of origin or educational background. The additional donor fellowships have specific criteria, but these are not a requirement for the International Student Fellowship combined competition.

Please contact Rackham Finance and Fellowships with any questions regarding eligibility.

Nominees must have a strong academic record, make good progress toward the degree, and demonstrate outstanding academic and professional promise. Preference is given to students without other sources of funding.

October 1, 2025

Awards of $14,596 may be used as stipend or tuition in the winter or spring/summer term of the competition academic year. Students receiving the International Student Fellowship may not concurrently hold an additional fellowship or assistantship in excess of 0.25 appointment in the same term.

Twenty-five International Student Fellowship awards will be available in 2025–26. In addition, awards such as the Chia-Lun Lo Fellowship, Arab Alumni Fund Fellowship, Kan-Chuang Fellowship, and Indian Alumni Fellowships are available for students meeting their specific criteria, and will be awarded as part of the combined International Student Fellowship competition.

These awards are generously sponsored by the following donor funds:

• Dr. Wenjing Chen Memorial Fellowship Fund
• Dr. Edgardo Laborde Graduate Student Award
• Lin-Chiuan Yan International Graduate Student Support Fund
• Barbour Centennial Award
• Eduardo and Aurora Sevilla Graduate Student Award Fund
• Karl C.K. Ma Endowed Graduate Scholarship Fund
• K.C. Shin Graduate Student Support Fund

Students are nominated by their program for this award. Students should contact their program regarding their selection process. Please note program application deadlines might be different.

Programs may submit the nomination, including:

• Statement of Student Achievement and Potential, including a brief statement by the graduate program chair regarding the qualifications of the nominee and the selection process used (1,500 words);
• Personal statement from the nominee describing their research and future goals (1,500 words);
• Letter of recommendation from the nominee’s faculty advisor or graduate chair, noting achievement and promise, previous sources of support, and other funding circumstances;
• Current curriculum vitae (c.v.)

Students eligible for these donor-funded fellowships will be considered for them in addition to the general Rackham International Student Fellowships, all awarded in the combined competition.

Chia-Lun Lo International Student Fellowship

For students who have earned a previous degree from a university in Taiwan.

Arab Alumni International Student Fellowship

For master’s students with an undergraduate degree from certain Middle Eastern/North African countries.

• Algeria
• Bahrain
• Comoros
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Mauritania
• Morocco
• Oman
• Palestine
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Tunisia
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen

Kan-Chuang International Student Fellowship

For outstanding female students from Asia or the Middle East.

Indian Alumni International Student Fellowship

The Indian Alumni Fellowship Fund assists outstanding students in Rackham programs who have completed their undergraduate degree from a college in India. This fellowship is supported by the collective generosity of U-M alumni from India, whose commitment to giving back helps open doors for future graduate scholars.